What are heart rate zones and which one should I train in?

By Mert Yerekapan · Updated

Heart rate zones are five bands of effort based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate. For most people, the best plan is to spend the majority of your training time in zones 2 and 3, which is about 60 to 80 percent of max, and a smaller amount in zones 4 and 5 for harder intervals.

The five zones

A common breakdown, as a percentage of max heart rate:

  • Zone 1: 50 to 60 percent. Very easy. Warm-ups, cool-downs and recovery.
  • Zone 2: 60 to 70 percent. Easy. You can hold a full conversation. This builds your aerobic base.
  • Zone 3: 70 to 80 percent. Moderate. You can speak in short sentences.
  • Zone 4: 80 to 90 percent. Hard. You can say a few words at a time.
  • Zone 5: 90 to 100 percent. Maximum. You can hold it for a minute or two.

Finding your max

The usual shortcut is 220 minus your age. It's rough. Real max heart rate varies by 10 or more beats either way for the same age. If you've done a hard race or an all-out interval session, the highest number you saw is a better guide than the formula.

If you're not sure, use the talk test instead of the numbers. It lines up well with the zones above and costs nothing. Watches and chest straps vary in accuracy too, with chest straps being more reliable during intervals.

Which zone to train in

The popular advice is to do about 80 percent of your training in easy zones (1 to 2) and 20 percent hard (4 to 5). Here's how I'd apply it:

  1. If you're new, stay in zones 2 and 3. That alone is enough to see gains.
  2. Add one hard session a week once you've got a few weeks of base.
  3. Keep your hard days hard and your easy days properly easy. The common mistake is training in the gray area of zone 3 all the time.

A note on watches

Zones are a guide, not a rule. Heat, caffeine, poor sleep, hills and stress all push your heart rate up for the same effort. On those days, trust how you feel.

League of Fitness uses heart rate zones to score the workouts that sync from Apple Health, so time in higher zones counts for more in a match. For your own training, a watch or a chest strap is plenty.

If you ever get chest pain, fainting or a racing heart that doesn't settle with rest, see a doctor.

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